Grado SR-60: a short review - Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio

antonyfirst · 05-25-2008, 07:35 PM

Last week I got my first pair of Grado in the mail. Even if it's a low end model, I was curious to see how a Grado sounded.
About one year ago I tried the d-JAYS IEMs, which I strongly disliked. Vocals were very nasal and closed, bass and treble were recessed, and electric guitars were overpowering. Since they were said to be gradoish, I always stayed far from grados. Until now.

The Headphone: my SR-60 is recabled with Canare Starquad and has an inline 100 ohm impedance adapter.

Comfort: they are open, not very comfortable, but not as discomfortable as, say, AKG K340. They are not as comfortable as Yuin earphones though.

Sound:
The SR-60 have a very coloured sound, but different from d-JAYS.
The SR-60 have thunping bass, they are more midbassy than deep. They have a kind of "fun" midrange that some people might call responsible of "grado magic". Midrange is forward and coloured, and with the thumping midbass give a sense of excitement to the music. It's expecially true for rock. While other headphones can be sterile sounding with rock, like if they were straining to reproduce the song, the SR-60 are effortless.
They are not greatly sibilant. This is true in comparison to Etymotic ER4P. The ER4P have deeper bass, clearer midrange, are not as effortless sound. The Etys have sterile, tight sound, more than just tight bass. Etys are a lot more sibilant. Neither is neutral. There are people that find the ER4P unique (with their lightsaber sound), and people who find Grados unique.
The SR-60 tend to make rock music pleasant. On the other hand, they tend to coloir a big part of rock music in the same way. This is not good for purists, but can be good for people who don't want the extreme fidelity, but fun and excitement.

Compared to IEMs and earphones, the SR-60 have bigger soundstage. They have very defined imaging, but upfront and not spacious, as well as Ety ER4P or Yuin PK1. The Yuin PK1 and OK1 are the only earphones to compete with Grado SR-60 in soundstage size.

Compared to the Yuin PK1 and OK1, the recabled SR-60 are the most coloured. The PK1 are more balanced, but still "fun" and pleasingly coloured. The OK1 are the most neutral, and hifi. The OK1 are the best at trasparency and making themselves unnoticed.
Each has its place in Headfi market.

I would rank the SR-60 as the best purchase under 90$ I have come across, while they beat also over 100$ IEMs, like Atrio M5. They are great value in this range, especially considering the difficulty to find IEMs that are pleasing.
I consider the PK1 superior to the SR-60, and the OK1 superior to both.
It's a though call between the SR-60 and ER4P.

In the end, I'm thankful to have tried the SR-60, because this way I came to know that they don't sound like d-JAYS, but can be a lot more pleasing, especially for some kinds of music.
To say the truth, I'm considering Alessandro MS2i and Grado HP2 for the future, because I am intrigued in seeing what the best Grado-like headphones can do.

Tony

malldian · 05-25-2008, 07:38 PM

Whats the point of the 100 ohm impedence?

antonyfirst · 05-25-2008, 07:41 PM

It's better for use with an amp, without the headphone hissing. So you can use better quality amps with them. At least, this is my understanding.

FlavioWolff · 05-25-2008, 07:41 PM

Very good review, I'm planning on purchasing the Yuin PK1 soon, and I am wondering how it would perform against SR225.

malldian · 05-25-2008, 07:44 PM

Originally Posted by antonyfirst

It's better for use with an amp, without the headphone hissing. So you can use better quality amps with them. At least, this is my understanding.

Understood, thanks. Did you try it out of a portable player unamped with the resistor?

Good review, great 'phone!

antonyfirst · 05-25-2008, 07:52 PM

I tried, but my pair needs too much power for an unamped player (as much as Yuin PK1, if not more).

Chimpie · 05-25-2008, 07:56 PM

Nice review. Glad you enjoy the phones!

goober-george · 05-25-2008, 07:57 PM

Good review, to you would you describe the midrange as smooth, I noticed you said colored but do you find it smooth as well? Also curious did you use flats or bowls? Oh one more question when you say precise imaging do you mean good instrument separation?

antonyfirst · 05-25-2008, 08:01 PM

What do you mean by "smoothness"? People tend to have different meanings for it.
If you mean "lack of harshness", I have seen many headphones being harsher than the SR-60 (the ER4P and the Super.fi 5 Pro, for example).

goober-george · 05-25-2008, 08:08 PM

Yeah, lack of harshness seems like a good definition. Sometimes though I feel the forward mids are too forward but not necessarily harsh.